After dinner, my brother and Mila sat on the couch watching TV while the kids played in another room. I cleared the table, feeling like a housekeeper, but if I didn’t do it, Mom would have to. Remembering Mila’s earlier expression when she was caught off guard lifted my spirits.
Mom started bustling around again, slicing up the fruit I had bought yesterday and serving it to Mila. Watching her so eager made me angry. It was sad to see a woman so biased towards sons, blind to her own daughter’s worth, and it seemed the daughter-in-law was a thankless one.
“Mila, you see, Brian is our family’s only son. Can we negotiate something?”
Sure enough, Mom was still fixated on her grandson! It must have been tough for her to keep quiet this long.
Mila pretended to be clueless. “Mom, what do you mean? What’s there to negotiate? I’ve already agreed to let Janet stay here.”
Her response didn’t match the question; did I need her permission to live here? I couldn’t be bothered to engage.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I meant, since we only have Brian, and Lily is a girl, can we not use your family name for the second child?”
She finally said it. I felt relieved for her but also sensed that this was about to get interesting. I cleaned the kitchen quietly while eavesdropping on their conversation.
Mila finally turned her gaze from the TV to my mom, who was standing there with a smile and a fruit platter.
“Mom, what are you joking about? We agreed on this before; how can it change now? You don’t need to emphasize having only one son; I’m also the only daughter of my family!”
My mom couldn’t sit still anymore. She pushed my brother aside and sat next to Mila, holding her hand and pretending to tear up. “Mila, you have to understand – sons and daughters are different. Our family has only one son; we need a successor, right? Now that you’re having a boy, if he doesn’t take our family name, your husband won’t rest easy in the afterlife! If it really comes to that, let Lily take the Payne surname instead. We can switch things around!”
Mila frowned at my mom’s words, and I felt uneasy too. She was openly expressing her preference for sons right in front of me. I couldn’t help but feel pitiful compared to Mila, the only child from a big city.